Ethiopian federal forces have retaken Mekelle’s airport from Tigrayan fighters KAMPALA, Uganda -- Ethiopian federal forces have taken the airport in Mekelle, the capital of the northern Tigray region, according to people in the city who spoke to The on Saturday, reversing a takeover by Tigrayan fighters that prompted the suspension of commercial flights last month. It wasn't immediately clear when federal forces recaptured Alula Aba Nega Airport. Those who provided the information declined to be identified for fear of retribution amid uncertainty over who controlled the city.
Severe disruptions to internet and cellphone networks have made gathering and verifying information from Tigray difficult. Details of how the airport changed hands, including whether fighting took place there, remained unclear. That much I can confirm,” an Ethiopian general said on condition of anonymity.
Neither the Ethiopian government nor the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, had issued an official statement on the airport’s reported capture. It wasn’t clear who controlled Mekelle itself. An AP contributor in the city said residents feared looting amid the uncertainty.
The AP could not independently verify those reports. TPLF fighters seized the airport on Sept. 23, prompting Ethiopian Airlines to suspend flights to Mekelle and the Tigrayan cities of Axum and Shire. The African Union urged restraint, warning that renewed tensions threatened the peace agreement signed in 2022.
Federal troops are fighting alongside allied Tigrayan forces against the TPLF. The AP previously reported that the Tigray Peace Force, a breakaway faction of the Tigrayan rebels, was operating alongside federal forces in the neighboring Afar region. The reported change in control follows a sharp deterioration in relations between Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea.
Ethiopia on Thursday ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats to leave and announced the closure of its embassy in Eritrea. Eritrea said that it would sever diplomatic ties. Ethiopian authorities have accused Eritrea of supporting the TPLF, an allegation Eritrea has denied.
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